The invention relates to a rotor for a reluctance motor. The rotor has a laminate stack, the individual laminate layers of which have strip shaped flux-conducting sections for the purpose of guiding a magnetic flux between the d-axes of the rotor. For this purpose, the flux-conducting sections run transversely to the relevant q-axis of the rotor and are separated from each other by non-magnetic flux barrier regions.
A rotor of this type is known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,140 A. In accordance with this, the flux barrier regions form hollow spaces in the rotor.
The invention further develops the rotor which is described in the European patent application having the application number EP 13 163 492.5 dated 12 Apr. 2013. According to the latter, a supporting element is arranged in the flux barrier regions to support the rotor against centrifugal forces, because the provision of the air barrier regions in the laminate stack reduces its mechanical rigidity. In addition, the invention is also able to further develop the rotor which is described in the European patent application with the application number EP 13 163 688.8, dated 15. Apr. 2013. The content of the two above-mentioned patent applications thus also forms part of the description of the present invention, i.e. the inventive rotor in the present description can also be further developed with the characteristics of the rotors described in the patent applications cited.
Electrical machines with reluctance rotors, that is reluctance motors, are operated in synchronous mode, and hence for their runup, that is in particular for their start-up from rest, they require an inverter, which is generally a component part of a converter. For this reason, reluctance motors are not directly suitable for mains operation, that is for line commutated operation, without a controllable inverter. Runup on a mains supply with a predefined constant alternation frequency is not possible.
For applications which call for mains operation, an asynchronous motor is generally used in place of a reluctance motor. However, asynchronous motors have the disadvantage that their efficiency is generally lower than for a reluctance motor operated in synchronous mode, because the slip which is always present between the rotating stator field and the rotor causes electrical losses in the rotor.